Apple’s iPad 2 media event is just days away and the rumor mill is a-flowin. The latest news courtesy of Engadget, and corroborating a previous report from iLounge, says that the iPad Apple will unveil next week will lack a few rumored features such as an SD card slot and a higher resolution display due to last-minute “engineering issues.”

So what will we see on March 2nd? We’re hearing it’s most likely a thinner, spec-bumped variation of the original iPad with a screen size and resolution identical to the current model. More RAM (512MB) and a more powerful CPU (the A5) are expected as well. It’s also a pretty safe bet the tablet will be sporting at least one camera up front — though if some of those case mockups we’ve seen tell us anything, expect a shooter around back too.

Engadget also relays that Apple will use next week’s media event to showcase the next iteration of iOS (5 to be exact) and “an expansion of Apple’s cloud services.”